CALLOWAY BOARD TO MEET
The Calloway County Board of Education will meet tonight at 6. Among items on a very busy agena will be consideration of a resolution that would authorize the school distict's finance corporation to issue refunding revenue bonds. The Board will also meet in executive session for a personnel matter. The meeting is being held at Calloway County High School.
SEDALIA WINS AWARD
Sedalia Elementary School in Graves County has been named a 2010 Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. This prominent designation is given to only about 300 public and private schools across the country every year in recognition of academic excellence, student achievement and improvement. The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private schools that are academically superior or have shown dramatic improvement in student achievement to high levels, especially among disadvantaged students. These schools serve as models for other schools throughout the nation and details of their achievements are shared on the U.S. Department of Education’s website.
DRIVE WITH CARE
With an increasing chance of widespread rain across the region over the next couple of days, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is reminding drivers to use appropriate caution on area highways when the rain hits. Whenever there is an extended period with little rainfall, a film of oil and other residue can collect on road surfaces. When rain finally arrives, this residue can combine with water on the roadway to create particularly hazardous driving conditions. A substantial number of highway crashes are attributed to drivers who fail to reduce travel speed to meet weather conditions. Motorists are reminded to be aware of this hazard and reduce driving speeds as rain moves across parts of Western Kentucky today and Friday.
TRIGG MAN KILLED IN ACCIDENT
Kevin R. Howell, 40, of Trigg County died in a wreck in Trigg County, just north of the state line, on Wednesday morning. Howell lost control of his car while traveling south on Ky. 139, state police said. The car left the road and hit a tree on the driver’s side. Howell died at the scene.
WELLNESS CONFERENCE
A free Wellness Conference will be held September 21 at Murray State University. Registration will begin at 8:00 a.m. with exhibit booths open as well. The conference begins at 8:30 a.m. The day will include a keynote speaker, breakout sessions with topics to include Community, Faith Based Programs/Initiatives, Schools, Small/Large Business and Tobacco Policy/Cessation, on site health risk assessments and panel discussions. Lunch will be provided. The conference will end at 3:30 p.m. with closing remarks and door prizes. The conference is sponsored by the Worksite Wellness Coalition for Cardiovascular Health in partnership with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and The Partnership For A Fit Kentucky’s REACT for Western Kentucky Wellness Coalition. There is no fee to attend but pre-registration is required by September 14. For more information or to register, contact Jamie Smith at (270) 442-1310.
PARK LOOKING OVERSEAS
According to Joe Walker with The Paducah Sun, Purchase Regional Industrial park officials are looking for foreign companies looking to move into the park. TIP Strategies of Texas will finalize a report this fall on how many and what type of skilled workers are available in this area to support industry in the 2,200-acre park in north Graves County. Those numbers and several recommended target industries will help the authority refine marketing.
MOVING IN CALVERT CITY
Precision Steel plans to move additional large pieces of industrial bag house equipment along KY 1523/Industrial Parkway in the Calvert City area of Marshall County on Thursday and Friday. The movement of these oversized loads will create some traffic delays that are generally expected to be less than 20 minutes each and are expected to occur about 3 times each day. The oversized loads will move from the Precision Steel facility at 6062 Industrial Parkway. The loads will then travel Shar-Cal Road to the Bailey Port facility. These loads will be moving during daylight hours only. Again, delays to traffic are expected to be less than 20 minutes in duration. Motorists who regularly travel the west end of KY 1523/Industrial Parkway between US 62 and KY 95 in the Calvert City Industrial area should take note of these potential delays and make advance alternate travel plans.
I-24 WORK TOMORROW
A Contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet plans milling and paving on Interstate 24 in Lyon County Friday morning. During asphalt paving as part of a highway improvement project on I-24 earlier this year too much asphalt was applied under an overpass near the 50 mile marker. The extra pavement thickness reduce the height clearance underneath the overpass by a couple of inches. The contractor plans to be at the site Friday morning to mill up some of the pavement and re-surface the area to increase the clearance for loads passing through the area. This corrective work will require a lane restriction and several lane shifts through the morning. Eastbound motorists on I-24 should be alert for slowing and merging traffic as they approach the 50 mile marker in Lyon County.
CONWAY EXCEEDS MONEY GOAL
Democrat Jack Conway stockpiled more than $300,000 from his first Web-based fundraiser, while his opponent made a fresh plea for financial backing from supporters as the U.S. Senate candidates kept up their push for campaign cash to stoke their television advertising blitzes. Republican Rand Paul said in an e-mail and social media posting that he needs to raise more than $350,000 in the next two weeks to ensure maximum exposure for his first television ad of the fall campaign season. The Republican's appeal came as Conway's campaign said Wednesday that it raised just over $310,000 during its Internet fundraiser on Tuesday. Conway's original goal was $260,000 and he later raised it to $300,000. Conway spokesman John Collins said the response from thousands of contributors from Kentucky and beyond reflected the campaign's strong grassroots support. The average contribution was just under $100, he said. Amid the fundraising flurry, a new poll from CNN reports the race is a dead heat.
TODD OUT AT UK
Lee Todd announced Wednesday that he will step down as president of the University of Kentucky when his contract expires June 30. The UK Board of Trustees wanted Todd to stay on as president, but the 64-year-old Kentucky native said he wanted to spend time with his family and do volunteer work for the university. Trustee Billy Joe Miles said Todd was "really depressed" about the university's financial condition and the inability to raise faculty salaries. An ailing economy has delivered a wallop to all of the state's public universities and government agencies. The departure leaves the university with the chore of finding a replacement. Todd said he expects the job will attract top quality candidates.
Phone and internet servies was out across much of West Kentucky due to a severed fiber optic cable.
WEDNESDAY NEWS
LINE CUT LEADS TO PHONE/ INTERNET OUTAGE
Damage to a major fiber-optic cable disrupted operations for some businesses Tuesday including all of our Forever Communications owned radio stations here in Murray. The cable was cut outside Madisonville according to a spoksman with Dialog Telecommunications. The outage affected service for six carriers. Among the carriers was AT&T. The outage caused some AT&T wire line customers in Livingston County to temporarily lose service Tuesday while making long distance calls. AT&T service was restored Tuesday.
4 DIE ON STATE ROADS
Preliminary statistics indicate that four people died in four separate crashes on Kentucky's roadways during the official Labor Day holiday period, which began at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 3 and ended at 11:59 p.m. on Monday. Three of the fatalities involved motor vehicles and two of those were not wearing seat belts. Through Sept. 6, 501 people have lost their lives on Kentucky roadways during 2010. This is 47 less than reported for the same time period in 2009. A total of one hundred six fatalities have resulted from crashes involving the suspected use of alcohol.
ROADEO IS THURSDAY
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 1 Roadeo is scheduled for Ken Lake State Resort Park on Thursday, September 9th. The Roadeo includes a number of events designed to allow KYTC personnel to test the equipment operation, driving, and safety skills they put to use out on the highway each and every day. They include Single Axle Dump Truck With Plow Obstacle Course, Single Axle Dump Truck with Tandem Trailer Course, and Backhoe Skills Competition. Events will kickoff about 8:00 a.m. and will likely conclude by about 2:00 p.m. In case of rain the event will move to Friday. In additional to bragging rights, equipment operators who win the district events will be able to go on to the state event where they compete with operators from the state’s 11 other highway districts.
WHITFIELD LAUNCHES WEBSITE
Representative Ed Whitfield launched a new campaign website this week to provide information on his efforts in Washington and better connect with supporters throughout the First Congressional District. Whitfield’s website features new photo and video galleries, information on the Congressman’s stance on pressing policy issues as well as news releases and columns penned by Whitfield. Additionally, Kentuckians will be able to sign up to receive monthly e-newsletters from the Congressman, volunteer for the campaign or make a donation.
YONTS WANTS PROBE
Rep. Brent Yonts yesterday called for an audit and investigation of Dismas Charities in a letter sent to State Auditor Crit Luallen and Attorney General Jack Conway. Yonts says Dismas Charities receives in excess of $1 million to run half way houses for the Department of Corrections and receives a few dollars from a Catholic charity. The balance is received from the U.S. government. Yonts says the CEO receives an annual salary in excess of $600,000, a deputy receives a salary in excess of $400,000, and others receive large sums as well. The charity has rented a box at the new basketball stadium in Louisville, for four years minimum, at $92,000 per year. The charity has also had a box at Papa John’s Stadium, for which they pay for $45,000 a year, and spent $15,000 to remodel it. In addition, the charity has leased a renovated party caboose at Papa John’s for an unknown price and for an unknown period of time. Yonts says the perception is when governments are broke, this charity, which receives government money, has taken on activities similar to those which were condemned in the past two years by financial institutions in their greed.
PADUCAH GETS PILOT PROGRAM SITE
A pilot program called Supported Employment is being offered to help mentally ill people find and keep jobs. Four sites in the state were selected for a pilot program called Supported Employment. The facilities are Four Rivers in Paducah, Comprehend Inc. in Maysville, Northkey in Covington and Communicare in Elizabethtown. The facilities will screen candidates for eligibility. The program will then help participants find and keep employment. Pamela Vaught, CEO of Comprehend, said last week that the goal of the program is to give individuals with mental illness a sense of pride and community contribution.
PAUL ADS BEGIN TODAY
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul is back in scrubs for his first TV ad of the fall campaign, declaring: "I'm a physician, not a career politician." Paul, a Bowling Green eye surgeon, trounced his GOP opponents in Kentucky's May primary by running as a political outsider, an approach he is carrying over into the general election campaign against Democrat Jack Conway. The 30-second ad scheduled to begin airing statewide on Wednesday shows Paul intermittently in scrubs and a white physician's coat with the voice of a female narrator declaring that he always puts patients first.
CONWAY WEB FUNDER A SUCCESS
Democrat Jack Conway surpassed $260,000 in campaign contributions Tuesday in his first Web-based fundraiser, borrowing from a strategy used effectively by his Republican opponent in Kentucky. The tally has exceeded the campaign's original goal of $260,000 by early Tuesday evening with several more hours left in the 24-hour Internet appeal, according to a running count on Conway's campaign website. They later raised the goal to $300,000. Rand Paul banked more than $1.2 million from Web-based fundraising, or "moneybombs," during the GOP primary, and has had a couple more during the general-election campaign. Conway's campaign has said Paul's online fundraising has been losing steam in its past couple of appeals.
STATE MAKING LEASE CHANGES
Gov. Steve Beshear's administration acknowledged Tuesday that landlords who lease office space to state agencies are being asked to reduce their rent charges by 5 percent to help offset a budget shortfall. Letters were sent last week making the request and suggesting that failing to comply with the initiative that would save the state more than $1 million could mean government agencies may look for cheaper space elsewhere. Department of Facilities Commissioner Sam Ruth gave landlords until Sept. 10 to return a contract agreeing to the reduction. State revenues have declined by some $1.5 billion over the past two years, largely the result of an ailing economy. Private sector layoffs have delivered a double whammy to the state with less revenue coming in from income taxes and sales taxes.
POETRY DEADLINE FOR HIGH SCHOOLS NEARING
Kentucky high schools that want to participate in a national contest in poetry reading have until Sept. 17 to get in their applications to the state arts council. The national Poetry Out Loud program encourages learning poetry through memorization and performance. Schools that participate in Poetry Out Loud hold a school-wide competition using materials provided by the arts council, and the winners head to a state competition in Frankfort in the early spring of 2011. The state champion then goes to an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the national finals, and the student’s school library wins $500 to purchase poetry materials. The national competition features $50,000 in scholarships and school prizes.
Sports Lunch
